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Globetrotting with Push
With your host, Raji "Push" Pushparajah
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Isle of Capri
The sun-drenched Isle of Capri juts out of the Mediterranean like a golden
statue, gracefully peering out onto the Bay of Napoli and the Italian
mainland. The breathtaking views of tiny homes dotting the almost
impossibly steep mountainsides are enough to bring one to a higher state
of awareness of oneself. Indeed, rapt by the smells of southern Italian
cooking and the feel of cool ocean breezes on my face, I became intensely
aware of my own mind and body, and particularly of the small patch of skin
below my left ear, which became firmly snagged in the gearworks of one of
the island's seven cable lifts. This obscure part of my body had never
been at the forefront of my consciousness until I found myself dangling
three hundred feet above the resort village of Aga, a favorite hideaway
for the reclusive rich. Fortunately, the lush green hillside slope took
away some of the force of the fall after my tenuous support gave way with
much ripping, and I rolled cleanly into the boat of a charming group of
local fishermen who had been lunching in the harbor a kilometer or so
away.
So I was taken quickly and graciously to the emergency medical
center in Naples in the cool comfort of the trawler's icebox, where the
cold and moisture from the day's catch of squid, octopus and sea urchin
made a very effective cold compress for the eight-inch patch of skin and
hair that had ripped off the back of my neck. So if you ever find yourelf
munching calamari salad in this true island paradise, spare a tip of the
wine glass for the fellows at Fabio Almante's fishery!
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